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CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION IN
BOTSWANA
AN EXCERPT FROM
The 2015 Global Climate Legislation Study
A Review of Climate Change Legislation in 99 Countries
Michal Nachmany, Sam Fankhauser, Jana Davidová, Nick Kingsmill, Tucker
Landesman, Hitomi Roppongi, Philip Schleifer, Joana Setzer, Amelia Sharman, C.
Stolle Singleton, Jayaraj Sundaresan and
Terry Townshend
www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/legislation/
Climate Change Legislation – Botswana
Botswana
Legislative Process
Botswana became independent from British rule in 1966, when it changed its political system from
one based on the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy to one in which the President is
head of state as well as head of government. The President is elected for five years by the
legislature, the National Assembly.
The National Assembly has 63 members, 57 of whom are directly elected in single member
constituencies, using a simple majority or first-past-the-post voting system. Four members of
parliament are elected by the rest of the Assembly by secret ballot, and the President and the
Attorney-General are ex officio members of parliament. The National Assembly is advised by the
House of Chiefs. Currently, the House consists of 35 members: eight are hereditary chiefs from
Botswana’s principal tribes (Bakgatla, Bakwêna, Balete, Bangwato, Bangwaketse, Barôlông,
Batawana, and Batlôkwa), 22 are indirectly elected for a period of five years, and the remaining five
are appointed by the President. However, unlike in truly bicameral systems, the House of Chiefs has
no legislative powers or veto rights.
Government Public Bills, introduced by a department or ministry, are the most usual form of
legislation. The legislative process then consists of four stages, starting with the introduction/first
reading in which a bill is published in the Government Gazette for thirty days and, without debating
the bill, MPs vote on whether or not the bill proceeds to the second stage. In the second reading,
the bill is debated in the National Assembly. Once it has received full consideration and approval in
principle, it is referred to the Committee Stage, where it is considered in more detail and amended
if necessary. After approval of the Committee of the Whole House, it is passed back to parliament
for a final vote in a third reading. A bill becomes law after the Head of State has given his/her
Presidential Assent.
Approach to Climate Change
As a land-locked country with an arid to semi-arid climate, Botswana is highly vulnerable to
environmental and social pressures emanating from climate change. The country’s problems with
desertification are believed to be caused and further exacerbated by extreme weather phenomena
such as droughts. Despite these pressures, Botswana has not yet developed a comprehensive policy
response to climate change. The Second National Communication to the UNFCCC of 2012 reads that
“[c]limate change is not yet a priority for the country (…). Climate change is weakly infused in social,
economic and environmental policies. Some of the capacity constraints identified under the
National Capacity Self-Assessment report were inappropriate institutional structure, inadequate
manpower and inadequate policy framework.”
There have been some positive developments lately, suggesting that climate change and its adverse
effects on the environment, people’s livelihoods, and the economy are now taken more seriously
by policy-makers. Most importantly, Botswana is developing a National Climate Change Policy and
Strategy and Action Plan (NCCPSAP). Implemented through the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife
and Tourism in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme, the objectives of
the NCCPSAP are to: (1) develop and implement appropriate adaptation strategies and actions that
will lower the vulnerability of Batswana and various sectors of the economy to the impacts of
climate change; (2) develop action and strategies for climate change mitigation; (3) integrate
climate change effectively into policies, institutional and development frameworks in recognition of
the cross-cutting nature of climate change, and; (4) ensure that Botswana is ready for the post-2015
climate regime when a new protocol applicable to all Parties will be finalised. The Policy is expected
to be finalised later this year.
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Climate Change Legislation – Botswana
Developing a response to the challenges posed by climate change is an objective in central policy
documents such as the National Development Plan (NDP) and Vision 2016. For example, the current
NDP 10 (2009-2016) stipulates that environmental protection and climate change mitigation and
adaptation need to be mainstreamed in development processes. It also proposes increased use of
renewable energy, in particular solar energy and biofuels, to improve energy supply security. In
2011, a Parliamentary Committee on Wildlife, Tourism and Climate Change was established. Even
so, the 2013 mid-term review of the NDP 10 again underscored the assessment made in the Second
National Communication to the UNFCCC that Botswana’s “ability to adequately commit resources
and capacity to respond to the impacts of climate change is at present inadequate”.
Energy supply
Energy supply consists primarily of electricity, fuel wood, liquefied petroleum gas, petrol, diesel,
and aviation gas. Fuel wood continues to be an important source of energy, especially in rural areas
where wood resources are readily accessible. According to estimations of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) fuel wood is still the principal source of energy for cooking in 46%
of households nationally; and in 77% of households in rural areas. Given the importance of energy
from biomass, the government has tried to create a policy framework for sustainable fuel wood
consumption and production and to promote the use of biogas and biofuels. A first step in this
direction is the Biomass Energy Strategy of 2009, which defines a set of strategic goals to improve
the “access to sustainable and affordable biomass energy for all by 2020”. Also in 2009, the Ministry
of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources published a draft National Energy Policy, which highlights
the importance of developing alternative renewable energy sources (solar, biogas), to improve
supply security. Similarly, the NDP 10 aims to develop renewable energy production. However, no
clear and binding targets have been formulated and energy from renewable sources constitutes a
very small proportion of the energy mix.
One of the flagship supply-side initiatives is the Renewable Energy-Based Rural Electrification
Programme. The state-owned Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Electricite de France (EDF),
with support of the UNDP and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), formed the joint venture
BPC-Lesedi in 2008. Operating through a franchise system, BPC-Lesedi provides integrated energy
packages to communities in rural areas. These include: solar home systems, solar lanterns, woodefficient stoves, and heat-retention cooking bags. Announced in 2011, but still in the planning
stage, is the introduction of a feed-in tariff for renewable electricity. A first step to implement such
a system was taken in 2007 with the amendment of the Electricity Supply Act of 1973 to allow the
operation of independent power producers.
Energy demand
Energy efficiency and conservation have gained importance due to climate change, concerns about
supply security, and high energy costs. Under the umbrella of its NDPs, the government promotes
the efficient use of energy in buildings, transport, and industry as well as the development of
demand-side policies and legislation. Some measures and initiatives in this area include: guidelines
for energy efficient building design, low wattage compact fluorescent bulbs, smart meters to
regulated power usage especially in water heating, energy audits in public institutions, and the
launch of the Botswana Energy Champion Competition. Promoting energy efficiency is also an
important aspect of the draft National Energy Policy for Botswana. It includes a goal to improve
“energy efficiency for all energy sources in all sectors of the economy”; but, again, no clear or
binding targets are formulated.
REDD+ and LULUCF
About 20% of Botswana’s territory is comprised of forests. Given the significance of fuel wood as a
source of energy, the forestry sector is crucial to livelihoods and the country’s economy, in
particular in rural areas. The central piece of legislation to regulate the use of forests is the Forest
Act of 1968. The Act was modelled on forestry legislation in Europe and the USA. Its main focus is
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Climate Change Legislation – Botswana
managing timber extraction and issues related to sustainable forestry stewardship do not figure
prominently. In 2005, the Act was amended in order to comply with the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species and it is again under review, with further amendments
to the legislation expected by 2015. The government has also declared conservation and the
sustainable management and utilisation of forests as one of its main policy goals. One of the
flagship initiatives listed in NDP10 is the Community-Based Natural Resource Management
Programme, which promotes the sustainable use of forestry resources. Through governmentinitiated afforestation efforts more than 120, 000 seedlings were planted in 2012; and Botswana is
one of the pilot countries in a programme supported by the South African Development Community
to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) for the period 2012-2015.
Transportation
The government has promoted renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions as well as for reasons of supply security. With regard to the transport sector, its NDP 10
includes an aspirational target to have 5% of its diesel consumption from biodiesel by 2016. The
document also says regulations for biofuels will be developed to guide its production and use. In
the context of the Biomass Energy Strategy a cost-benefit analysis for biodiesel from jatropha and
bioethanol from sorghum was carried out. Although national biofuel guidelines were developed in
2010, there is lack of a more comprehensive policy framework or legislation in this area.
Adaptation
Given Botswana’s high level of vulnerability to the negative impacts posed by climate change,
policy-makers have realised that adaptation has to be part of the country’s response to these
pressures and this is reflected in central policy documents such as the NDP10. Currently under
development, the national climate change policy and strategic action plan will feature a strong
adaptation component. To this end, the government, supported by the Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the UNDP, organised a workshop in April 2014 on key
themes related to climate change adaptation in Botswana.
Botswana: Executive portfolio
Name of Policy
Date
Summary
The National Development Plan 10 (2009-2016)
March 2009
Botswana’s NDPs are grand scheme policy frameworks, which define the country’s
medium-term development goals and strategies. The current plan started in December
2009 and runs until 2016. The 10th NDP was the first of its kind to incorporate a resultsbased approach; but climate change is not a priority issue under the plan and it does not
formulate a coherent policy framework for this area. Still, there are several policy
elements of relevance to climate change. For example, in the transport sector, the plan
sets an aspirational target of reaching 5% of biodiesel of total diesel consumption by
2016. The plan lists several climate change relevant initiatives and programmes in the
forestry and energy sectors, including: the Community-Based Natural Resource
Management Programme and the Renewable Energy-Based Rural Electrification
Programme.
Name of Policy
Date
Summary
Botswana Biomass Energy Strategy
March 2009
In 2009, with support of the German Federal Enterprise for International Co-operation,
the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources published the Botswana Biomass
Energy Strategy. The policy document includes a cost-benefit analysis of biomass energy
consumption and production as well as an assessment of the existing policies and
institutions in this area. On that basis, an overall vision for Botswana’s biomass energy
policy is formulated: improved access to sustainable and affordable biomass energy for all
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Climate Change Legislation – Botswana
by 2020. In order to realise this vision, the Biomass Energy Strategy contains four strategic
goals: (1) improving access to adequate energy services through improved supply of
biomass and alternative energy fuels; (2) sustainable production and use of woody
biomass energy, (3) derived modern energy from available biomass resources; and (4)
creation of a conducive environment for the promotion of new and improved biomass
technologies.
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Climate Change Legislation – Botswana
Sources
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Botswana Vision 2016 Council, official website. Botswana Vision 2016: Towards Prosperity for All [URL:
http://www.vision2016.co.bw/]. Accessed 14 July 2014.
BPC-Lesedi, official website. About Us [URL: http://www.bpclesedi.co.bw/about_us.html]. Accessed 14 July 2014.
Department of Forestry and Range Resources, official website. Policies and Legislation [URL:
http://www.mewt.gov.bw/DFRR/article.php?id_mnu=130]. Accessed 14 July 2014.
Heinrich Boell Foundation, 2013. Powering Africa through Feed-In Tariffs [URL: http://ke.boell.org/2014/02/09/poweringafrica-through-feed-tariffs]. Accessed 14 July 2014.
Ministry of Environment, 2011. Second National Communication to the UNFCCC, December 2011.
Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, 2013. Mid-Term Review of NDP 10, June 2013.
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Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, 2009. 10 National Development Plan Us [URL:
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